Rhinelander - We learned more today about Wisconsin Public Services' five-year, $220 million project.WPS doesn't want its customers to be out of power, so it will bury more than 1,000 miles of power lines underground.The company chose mostly rural areas, like Vilas and Oneida counties, for the project.That's because those areas have lots of trees that can fall on power lines during storms.
In the '50s, it wouldn't be uncommon for someone in the Northwoods to rack up days without power every year.Thanks to efforts like tree-trimming, that number is way down."Today, we're talking minutes per year. There are still customers in the Northwoods that are still in hours per year, significant hours," said Richard Reitz, a WPS engineer. "We're targeting those areas where we can make the biggest improvement."In 2014, WPS will bury lines in Minocqua and Boulder Junction.They will also work on Highway 70 east of Eagle River.Post Lake, Elcho, and Pelican Lake are also on the list for 2014, along with sections of Highway 101 in Wabeno.In most places, existing poles and wires will be removed. Many lines will be bored 36 inches under the ground, while ther parts of the project will be a little messier."Other areas, we'll have to do some backhoe work," Reitz said. "We try to avoid backhoe work because it's mroe costly and there's more clean-up involved."WPS has already contacted property owners who will be affected by the 2014 work.